Fantastic Abbey’s magical movie role

Dominic Collis

The face of a budding Burnley actress is sharing big screen time with Hollywood veteran Jon Voight in the new Harry Potter spin-off movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.

Burnley College performing arts student Abbey Murwald beat off thousands of hopefuls to land an extras role in the blockbuster movie, from the pen of J.K. Rowling, which is currently showing at cinemas around the world.

My scene was with Jon Voight and we actually had to make eye contact which was really cool.

Abbey Murwald

And the 17-year-old from Worsthorne says she still can’t believe her luck that she was given the opportunity to share an exciting scene with Jon Voight, the father of Hollywood screen siren Angelina Jolie.

Abbey said: “My mum spotted an advertisement for extras on Facebook and so I applied, but didn’t believe I’d be accepted.

“It was an amazing experience. We filmed in Liverpool and at Warner Bros. Studios near London. My scene was with Jon Voight and we actually had to make eye contact which was really cool. He was really nice during filming and asked how I was.

“The scene involved some kind of monster, which was added later by CGI. We were told we had to react to a noise and act shocked.”

Abbey had to wait until the film was released before she could see herself on the big screen – but for her, opening night was at a cinema in Accrington, rather than Leicester Square.

“I went with my friend and her mum who kept prodding me when I appeared. It was weird seeing myself,” she added.

Abbey also managed to catch a glimpse of the film’s big star, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, while filming in London.

The former Unity College student, who had to have her hair cut short for the part, says she’s now got the bug.

“I would like to be an extra again. I actually got offered an extras role on the new Nutcracker film but I was away on holiday.

“The whole experience was really exciting. It was great to see Eddie Redmayne as well. Everything was very strict on set.

“We had to sign secrecy agreements and we weren’t allowed to have our mobile phones on set.”